"Official!" written by Jim on estrip.org

Category: work

10/29/08 10:38 - 36ºF - ID#46405

Official!

My new position is actually a position, instead of some de-facto thing! I clarified that I have the authority to back up my responsibilities, and my Projects Manager title will be made public to everyone next week when my boss gets back from vacation. Happy day :)

Permalink: Official_.html
Words: 46
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: culture

10/28/08 11:58 - 39ºF - ID#46384

ALL MUSIC VIDEOS EVER

MTv just posted an archive of all music videos in their archives:

Check it out here:

Super-sweet. And embeddable.

Permalink: ALL_MUSIC_VIDEOS_EVER.html
Words: 25
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: buffalo

10/28/08 09:28 - 40ºF - ID#46381

Thermostat Poll

How high to you keep your thermostat? (I know you might not have yours on yet, but I'm talking in general during the winter.)

James only allows me to ever put it at 58 degrees. :)

tinypliny writes at 08:55:15 10/28/08 - Comment #41147: My flat is always cold since there is really no heating. So whenever I am at home (about 3-4 hours at night/evening, I sit and work about 5 inches away from a small 900W heater-air-fan (that is more like a hairdryer) and drink a gallon of hot tea. When I am not working, I dress like an astronaut. I don't have a choice or say in this. :/

jenks writes at 08:51:58 10/28/08 - Comment #41145: Ok so sue me for killing the environment, but one thing I cannot stand is being cold, so mine is set at 66 at night and while away, 71 when home, which often gets bumped to 73 since I'm still cold.

So there- that can make you all feel better about indulging a little, since I'm sure I have you all beat.

libertad writes at 03:12:23 10/28/08 - Comment #41104: I love how there is fighting about the thermostat. What easier thing to fight about than the settings we place it at?

dragonlady7 writes at 02:02:15 10/28/08 - Comment #41098: That is NOT why we got rid of the programmable thermostat! We got rid of it because it was intractable, and started completely losing its shit. Also it would turn on at like 5 am and just blast hot air straight into your face until you got a nosebleed, daily.

My weird little hangups aren't really that weird, dude. They're based on a childhood in poverty, and given my adult life, it's a pretty good show that I have them.

Now you wouldn't be implying that you installed the thermostat off-level, now would you? You know we have another thermometer sitting right on top of the armoire. So I already know what temperature it really is, and whether the thermostat is right.

zobar writes at 01:38:52 10/28/08 - Comment #41096: We had a programmable thermostat, but (e:dragonlady7) is a fiddler and she'd always set it manually and screw up the programming. So we got one of these :::link::: instead, which you could tell by the ridge in the paint on the wall was the exact same thing that was there when the house was built.

Anyway she has weird little hangups about when you're allowed to turn the heater on [Veterans' day?! For real??] and how high you're allowed to set it [60 during the day but only if you're having company over].

But that's ok, it's got a mercury switch which means if it's just a little bit off-level it says 60 but turns on at 65.

- Z

james writes at 12:50:54 10/28/08 - Comment #41091: Why are you trying to arm yourself to fight me? ^_~

Besides, The Ben thinks it is sweltering when it gets above 53 degrees.

jim writes at 12:38:47 10/28/08 - Comment #41089: By the way, this post was inspired by someone asking the same question on Twitter, not me trying to arm myself to fight James over the temperature.

jim writes at 12:30:42 10/28/08 - Comment #41087: :)

jim writes at 12:30:35 10/28/08 - Comment #41086: SOMEDAY, JAMES!!! SOME. DAY. SOON.

james writes at 12:28:55 10/28/08 - Comment #41084: Come on Jim. In a discussion with friends we admitted we never fight. Do you really want to kill that spark of hope that one day you may be punching my guts till I puke over the thermostat?

jim writes at 11:50:55 10/28/08 - Comment #41083: I think the answer is to get a programmable thermostat :)

Thanks everyone!

matthew writes at 11:41:18 10/28/08 - Comment #41082: 7:30am - 11:30am 62
11:30am - 5:30pm 60
5:30pm - 11:30pm 64
11:30pm - 7:30am 58

mrmike writes at 11:01:51 10/28/08 - Comment #41080: I left my thermostat at my former house, so now I'm stuck with whatever the landlord is over charging me for.

jim writes at 11:01:35 10/28/08 - Comment #41079: ouch.

james writes at 10:59:32 10/28/08 - Comment #41078: I would let you keep it on higher if you didn't leave it on all night and while you are work. :p

Oh, and the couch says thanks. The living room is really toasty even though no one is there to enjoy it.

hodown writes at 10:06:13 10/28/08 - Comment #41075: In a perfect world it would be 68 at night and 71 during the day.

pmrk writes at 10:05:48 10/28/08 - Comment #41074: 62 from 8:00am - 5:00pm
68 from 5:00pm - 10:00pm - sometimes 70 if its really chilly in the house
65 from 10:00pm to 5:00am
68 from 5:00am - 8:00am

we have a boiler so it takes a little bit to get the house warmed up so I don't program huge temp changes as it seems more efficient that way. I swore I crunched the numbers one year as I'm a nerd like that to make sure it was worth keeping the house a little warmer.

janelle writes at 09:57:19 10/28/08 - Comment #41071: We have a programmable thermostat. It's 65 degrees between 5pm to 10pm on Monday through Friday. For the rest of the day it's at 60 degrees.

On the weekends it's 65 degrees in the afternoon and evening and 60 degrees at night and in the morning.

If anyone needs help installing a programmable thermostat, let me know. I already figured out all the things NOT to do when installing one!

libertad writes at 09:49:48 10/28/08 - Comment #41070: 58 is a bit too frigid James. Turn up the heat! Yes, I have mine on now. I keep it between 60 to 68 at the highest.

drew writes at 09:33:25 10/28/08 - Comment #41069: Whatever it is set at, I am not allowed to touch it.

Permalink: Thermostat_Poll.html
Words: 34
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: games

10/27/08 05:36 - 43ºF - ID#46370

World of Warcraft

From McSweeney's:

I do not think I am, as you so eloquently screamed, "addicted to World of Warcraft." I have, however, made a number of unfortunate mistakes, for which I would like to apologize.

and ...

Also, what you stumbled upon me doing with that Level 64 blood elf in the back room of the Silvermoon City Inn was neither "sick and perverted" nor "cheating on you." We were role-playing. That I called you by her character's name later that evening was just a weird coincidence. I do not wish your body looked like that. You and I both know that it's physically impossible for humans to have those proportions, at least while retaining all of their internal organs.

ahem.... James!

Permalink: World_of_Warcraft.html
Words: 124
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: bacon

10/27/08 12:58 - 42ºF - ID#46365

Baconaisse!

Is it a joke? Who knows!

Permalink: Baconaisse_.html
Words: 23
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: family

10/26/08 03:12 - 57ºF - ID#46350

Grandpa

My grandfather is not doing well, I am looking forward to when I go out to see everyone at Thanksgiving. Hopefully things stay stable until then. Lots of deaths in my life the past few years.

(My grandpa and my Dad)

Permalink: Grandpa.html
Words: 43
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: travel

10/25/08 11:45 - 51ºF - ID#46335

Snap Decisions

I idly was looking at airfares, thinking of going to see my family at Thanksgiving. They were all $800+, except I found a couple deals on Delta for $400. I had to snap that up since it's only going to get more ridiculous the closer we get to the holidays.

So my decision was made: home for the holidays! As much as home can be where my James is not, of course.

Permalink: Snap_Decisions.html
Words: 72
Location: Buffalo, NY

10/25/08 03:55 - 54ºF - ID#46322

Wassup?

2008:

Original:

Permalink: Wassup_.html
Words: 17
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: culture

10/25/08 02:47 - 54ºF - ID#46321

Equal Opportunity

An interesting essay by Will Wilkinson:

which also keyed off some things that I've talked to James about recently, in his job search.

[W]hat little I know of economic sociology tells me that access to economic opportunities is deeply network-relative. -- Will Wilkinson

I find this to be very true. It's the adage that it's not what you know but who you know -- opportunities come through communication, not based on merit. Merit is what allows you to take advantage of the opportunity. You don't have a chance of showing off your skill unless you can talk to the right person.

At work the positions I've helped to hire for have been filled based on me knowing the people we were hiring. I vouched for and championed them because of their personalities and communication skills in addition to their technical chops. The thought of posting those jobs in public and hiring strangers off the street unnerved me greatly.

It's not a perfect system, but we'd only hire a programmer who doesn't come to us through either personal recommendation or by coming to the Ruby meetups we host only as a last resort. Hiring someone is a huge decision that can make or break a team, as I've seen from a few different sides.

It's a tough problem. There are people who are perfectly capable of careers that they can't get into because they don't know who to talk to. Networks limit choices, but also minimize risk and maximize chance of success, if you start out with the right mindset.

If you're looking for a job, don't look in the want ads, look for smokey back rooms and referrals :)

james writes at 12:24:06 10/26/08 - Comment #40976: alright, alright! I will get those addresses monday and draft a freakin letter.

^_^ thanks everyone for the motivation.

janelle writes at 12:11:58 10/26/08 - Comment #40975: It definitely is a good idea for James to ruthlessly pursue his connections, because realistically that's how it works. =)

I just wanted to point out that the who you know system screws people over. It's also what has made it difficult for women and people of color to move up the ladder or even get in the door in some fields.

But I know that it's not your intent to screw people over when you do the hiring process.

Seriously, don't be scared of hiring people off the street. There are interview techniques that you can use to sort out qualified candidates. I'm actually really interested in the whole process of interviewing candidates and making good selections, so you just happened to hit on an area of interest for me.

paul writes at 12:10:40 10/26/08 - Comment #40974: Oh ya, I would definetly say James should pursue it, because no matter how much I think the system is wrong or right, the fact is that it is the system used almost everywhere.

jim writes at 12:07:01 10/26/08 - Comment #40973: The people that we hired was one guy that I'd worked with in the past, and one that has been going to the Ruby meetups for almost a year - neither of whom I was really 'friends' with, but I did know them fairly well, enough to feel very comfortable working with them.

This all came up as James is looking for work, and I'm pushing him to ruthlessly pursue personal connections that he made during the campaign this year :)

janelle writes at 12:04:09 10/26/08 - Comment #40972: I read Paul's journal in response to yours and then I read your journal.

I'm not a big fan of the hire who you know through your networks system. Although I do appreciate when friends pass along possible opportunities to me, like you did. That kind of hiring system is what made it impossible for me to get a job in my field (criminal justice) in Philadelphia. So I ended up working in a totally non-related field than what I studied.

Even though I scored near perfect on civil service exams for probation/parole positions, people who scored less than me were hired on the basis of who they knew. It was unfair and frustrating.

The who you know system seems particularly strong in Buffalo and I've seen hiring practices happen that I thought were uncalled for/unfair in a few different situations.

Really, hiring strangers off the street isn't that scary and you could end up with greater diversity in your staff if you do it that way.

Just my two cents as someone who has done a lot of hiring and has been screwed over by hiring processes.

jim writes at 11:37:16 10/26/08 - Comment #40970: Thanks, Paul - I know what you mean of course. I'm glad that it's working out for me in my new situation, as we had some excellent candidates from the pool at our Ruby meetup. That's not an endlessly deep resource, so maybe I shouldn't think to always count on it, as clearly as you reference it didn't work out for you guys at Roswell with me. :/

paul writes at 11:13:54 10/26/08 - Comment #40965: I turned my long comment into a post (e:paul,46338) in honor of the 25,000 post goal.

tinypliny writes at 05:37:55 10/25/08 - Comment #40951: And talk. Talk to as many people as you possibly can. I mean "quality talk", not just "how's it going" "I am fine" talk. If you don't talk, you are missing more than 70% of the potential friends and contacts you might make.

Permalink: Equal_Opportunity.html
Words: 285
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: nature

10/25/08 11:55 - 53ºF - ID#46319

Green Thumb

I got a couple cute little house plants to take to work. They're all marked as tolerant of low light, so hopefully they'll do OK. I got a plant light just in case, but I'm not sure how to set it up so it won't put too much light on them. I think I'm going to set a timer so it lights them up for a couple hours every morning.

Does anyone have any recommendations on low light plants species to get? I'm always on the look out, and would love to fill my cube up :)

Also, does anyone know where I can by some simple, plain, but not ass ugly plant stands that would be neutral enough to look OK in an office? Target and Home Depot don't seem to sell them. Metal or wood is OK.

pmrk writes at 10:16:01 10/26/08 - Comment #40995: I'd a recommend a snake plant aka Mother In Laws Tongue. They don't like a lot of water or too much light. I water mine every 2 weeks or sometimes once per month. Pothos plants are fairly tolerant of many light conditions, they prefer indirect light. They'll let you know if you're not watering them enough as they will droop but once per week is generally good. I gave my Mom a pothos a few years and it is still doing very well and she usually kills every plant too so don't feel bad (e:tinypliny) Home Depot sells both.

gardenmama writes at 04:30:35 10/25/08 - Comment #40943: I got a couple of really nice low-light plants at Home Depot. They are two different varieties - one with green leaves and pinkish veins, and the other I believe has pinkish leaves with green veins. They are doing very well in my office - not near the window. Also, bamboo does not like direct sunlight and is interesting to look at. I got some really cheap (loose) at the 99 cent chinese store on Sheridan near Bailey by the chinese buffet. I put it in a ceramic container/vase with small stones around it - doesn't require dirt - just water.

theecarey writes at 12:50:12 10/25/08 - Comment #40938: Philodendrons seem to thrive well in office environments. From what I have been told, the bright artificial light is good enough. Maybe it depends on variety.
:::link:::

This morning I was reading up on plants that offer good air filtration. So here is a link to that as well, as there may be some listed that would work for what you are looking for:
:::link:::

tinypliny writes at 11:59:46 10/25/08 - Comment #40936: Man, I always have killed all the plants (16, at last count) I have ever had. The botanical world and I don't get along too well. I am the queen of all black and decayed thumb people all over the world. :/

Permalink: Green_Thumb.html
Words: 138
Location: Buffalo, NY